Finding the Kitchen Table in a Busy Home

Clutter seems to come into our home at such a rapid pace. When we get busy with work, family or just trying to manage life clutter can quickly and easily take over.

While helping a busy family regain control of their house, we decided to take advantage of a summer day where the kids were home from school and put them to work. Everyone was working on a corner of the room, clearing clutter while finding lost items they had been looking for in the dining room/living room. The daughter, who can not remember seeing the surface of the dining room table or eating a meal with her family there, came in as we were finishing up and excitedly said "Mom, that looks great. Can we actually eat dinner on that table tonight?" The family sat down to a meal at their dining room table that evening.

These are the moments that make all of the hard work worthwhile!

Want to bring back the family meal to your table? We would love the privilege of helping you clear the clutter and bring the fun back to your table.

Helping a Senior with Dementia Transition

Dementia is such an awful disease and almost every family I know has a loved one that is affected. Our family lost my husband's mom this year to dementia.

Each week we are moving clients who can no longer to live independently due to dementia. We like for everything to go smoothly and for the client to transition into a home they feel comfortable in. Here are some tips we have found to make the move easier:

• Use their favorite items from their home in the new apartment. They are familiar, making them feel at home and able to easily find what they need.
• Take attention to detail to set up a very similar environment in the new home, including furniture placement and the location of the things they will be looking for.
• Wait to pack boxes and change the environment until the last minute because seeing boxes will just confuse them.
• Have a family member or friend take the client out for the day so that they do not see all of the work that goes into their transition and bring them back when it is complete so they can just walk into a new home where they recognize their belongings.
• Label new spaces in the home so that they know where to find things because they will not remember if we just tell them.
• Make lists of daily processes, like what they need to do to get ready for the day or what they need to do to get ready, and post them in the apartment.
• Make notes on the door to remind them of things they need to do or take with them before leaving.
• Set up a calendar where they can keep track of what day it is (crossing off days as they are complete) and what they have scheduled for the day.
• Walk the client through the new apartment, orienting them to the new space, and have a loved one spend time with them in the new apartment for the first couple of days to help them get acquainted with their new space.

We would love the privileged of helping your loved one transition into their new home.

The Problem with Space for Hoarders

Recently we received a call from a frantic family member. Adult Protective Services had "red tagged" the client's home due to extreme clutter and they were being released from the hospital the following day. The home needed to be cleaned out before they could come home.

We scrambled to put together a plan and a crew to clear the home. We were unable to meet with the client and work with them as we normally would so we did the best we could do, getting his permission to remove certain things that were clearly trash/recycling. We had to box up remaining clutter in clearly labeled boxes he could see, hoping he would have the capacity to find what he is looking for.

We were able to meet all of the standards of Adult Protective Services and the hospital giving him what everyone thought would be a welcoming surprise. However, we knew it would not be.

I asked to meet with him upon arrival to give him a tour and assure him that we took care of his belongings, but the family did not think that was necessary. When he walked into his home, he told his family that this was not his home. He got very angry over the work done and felt we had taken his things (because he could not see them). Eventually, I was able to go in and reassure him that I have the same respect for his belongings as he does and that they were there but just in clearly labeled boxes. He was set at ease and is adjusting to the new environment.

When someone is used to a certain environment and struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder/Hoarding, a clear space is not something they are comfortable with. Someone may think they are doing them a favor, however it may not be a welcomed favor. The hoarder immediately feels they need to fill that space created.

Because of this, our most common practice in working with those who struggle with hoarding and chronic disorganization is to work directly with the client and move at a much slower pace, getting them used to the new cleared space and training them to maintain the clutter free environment one space at a time. It allows us to work through the emotional and psychological issues as well as the physical ones.

Every once in a while we do a quick clean up like this because Adult Protective Services has gotten involved or the client has passed away and the family just wants the house cleared out. If you or a loved one needs help gaining control of their surroundings, we hope you will let us share our expertise with them.